{
  "abstract": "Polar aprotic solvents have many applications in organic chemistry, but there are few bio-based substitutes available. As legislation becomes more restrictive due to health and safety concerns, the need for safer and more sustainable solvents has become ever more pressing. Here, we have built on previous works to synthesise several derivatives of the cellulose-derived Cyrene through an environmentally friendly ketalisation reaction, resulting in a class of solvents called the Cygnets. Diol reagents were selected based on their bio-based origin, and four novel solvent structures were synthesised and comprehensively characterised using NMR, ( 1 H and 13 C), GC-FID, and HPLC-ESI-MS. The solvents were also shown to be non-toxic to skin cell lines HaCaT and BJ-5ta, presenting a viability above 70%. Finally, the presented structures show differing properties depending on the structure of the secondary ring formed. The presence of longer side chains results in a solvent with a lower boiling point, allowing it to be used in a wider range of reactions, and presents the interesting possibility to tune the final properties by modifying the used diol reagent.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "ACIB GmbH, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 20, Tulln an der Donau, Austria, 3430",
    "Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Agricultural Sciences, Konrad-Lorenz-Strasse 20, Tulln an der Donau, Austria, 3430",
    "Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Genova, via Dodecaneso 31, Genova, GE, Italy, 16146",
    "Department of Chemistry",
    "University of York",
    "Grup de Biotecnologia Molecular i Industrial, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC-BarcelonaTech, Rambla Sant Nebridi 22, Terrassa, Spain, 08222",
    "University of Lincoln"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Cicely M. Warne"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Giacomo Lombardo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Chiara Siracusa"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "James Sherwood"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Kristina Ivanova"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Eva Ramon"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Tzanko Tzanov"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Georg M. Guebitz"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Con R. McElroy"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Alessandro Pellis",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3711-3087"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bp46yjj7qsbwv.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15008385/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "bp46yjj7qsbwv",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008385/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2304|Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7211886583",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008385/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-07",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bp46yjj7qsbwv.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15008385",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008385/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2304|Chemistry and Chemical Engineering",
      "subfield": "environmental"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Expanding the Cygnet Class of Solvents: Development of a Series of Bio-based Polar Aprotic High Boiling Solvents",
  "title_text": "Expanding the Cygnet Class of Solvents: Development of a Series of Bio-based Polar Aprotic High Boiling Solvents",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bp46yjj7qsbwv",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}